-  7^  ■ 

1'^  ’  >2.  /  , 


No.  1600 


MEXICO:  ^ 


Korih  Anicricoi 

LIBBAIIY 

JAN 


THE  LAND,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  CHURCH 


5(  G'don 


1912 


THE  BOARD  OF  MIS.SIONS 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York 


RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  D.  AVES,  U.D. 
Bishop  of  Mexico 


NEW  ORLEANS 


(2) 


MEXICO  :  THE  LAND,  THE  PEOPLE, 
AND  THE  CHURCH 


Photo  by  Waite  ONE  OP  MEXICO'S  SNOW-CLAD  PEAKS 

Popocatepetl  from  the  village  of  Amecamcen 

THE  ANCIENT  AZTEC  LAND —RELIGIOUS  DIFFICULTIES  AND  REFORMS —THE 
PEON,  HIS  ORIGIN  AND  POVERTY— HIS  HOME  AND  CHILDREN’S  NEED  FOR 
SCHOOLS — THE  HOOKER  SCHOOL— WORK  AT  HUMINI— ST.  ANDREW’S  SEMINARY 


The  Aztec  Land 

EXICO,  the  land  of  the  Aztecs, 
is  a  country  of  no  mean  dimen¬ 
sions.  Its  area  is  707,005 
square  miles,  which  is  eciual  to 
that  of  all  the  United  States  east  of  the 
^lississippi  Hiver,  with  the  exception  of 
Wisconsin.  It  is  equal  to  the  combined 
territory  of  fJreat  Britain.  France,  Spain, 
riermany,  Holland,  Belp’ium  and  Switz¬ 
erland.  When  Bisho])  Aves  wishes  to 
travel  between  the  two  missions  of  En¬ 
senada  and  Salina  Cruz,  he  must  cover 
a  distance  as  g'reat  as  that  from  Boston 
to  Salt  Lake  Cit.v ;  and  then  he  is  a  thou¬ 
sand  miles  short  of  ^Mexico’s  most  easter¬ 
ly  shore.  And  when  it  is  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration  that  this  vast  country  is  no 
wilderness,  but  is  inhabited  by  some 
14,000,000  people,  and  that  many  points 


can  be  reached  only  by  horseback  or 
stage,  it  is  apparent  what  an  overwhelm¬ 
ing  charge  it  is  for  a  single  bishop. 

But  Mexico  is  notable  not  only  for  its 
horizontal  extent,  but  likewise  for  its 
altitude.  From  both  its  eastern  and 
western  shores,  the  land  rises  abruptly 
to  a  great  central  plateau,  which  com¬ 
prises  the  greater  portion  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  This  might.v  table-land  ranges  in 
elevation  from  4.000  to  9,000  feet,  with 
snow-clad  peaks  almost  18,000  feet  above 
the  sea.  The  City  of  Mexico  has  an  ele¬ 
vation  of  7,350  feet.  As  a  result,  Mexico 
has  every  variety  of  climate,  from  that 
of  the  tropics  at  Vera  Cruz,  to  that  of  the 
cold  temperate  zone.  It  is  possible  in  a 
single  da.v’s  horseback  ride  to  pass  from 
orange  and  banana  plantations  to  the  re¬ 
gions  of  wheat,  corn  and  frost.  Bj’  rail, 
it  can  he  done  within  an  hour. 


(3) 


4 


Mexico:  Tlie  Land,  the  Peoide,  and  the  Church 


The  People  and  Their  History 

The  people  of  ]\Iexico  are  for  the  most 
part  descended  from  the  ancient  Aztecs 
and  other  aboriginal  races.  Almost  two- 
fifths  of  them  are  pnre-blooded,  and  a 
somewhat  larger  number  have  an  admix¬ 
ture  of  Spanish.  The  balance  are 
foreigners — Americans,  English,  Span¬ 
ish,  French,  German.  President  Benito 
Juarez,  the  greatest  ruler  Mexico  has 
ever  had,  w^as  a  full-blooded  Indian,  a 
descendant  of  the  original  possessors  of 
the  land.  Even  those  who  are  partly 
Spanish  take  chief  pride  in  their  In¬ 
dian  ancestry.  As  one  of  our  native 
priests  once  remarked,  “If  it  were  pos¬ 
sible,  I  would  take  every  drop  of  Spanish 
blood  from  my  veins.”  The  term 
“klexicans”  is  applied  officially  to  all  the 
citizens  of  Mexico,  whether  of  pure  or 
mixed  blood.  But  the  Mexicans  of  pure 
Indian  descent,  especially  those  who  still 
speak  the  old  dialects  and  retain  the 
primitive  costume,  are  commonly  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  the  others  as  “Indians.” 
But  of  course  the  significance  of  the 
term  “Indian”  in  ]\Iexico  is  very  differ- 
eiit  from  what  it  is  in  the  United  States. 
Spanish  is  the  common  language  of  the 
country,  but  Aztec  and  other  aboriginal 
dialects  are  still  spoken  extensively. 

Mexico  is  full  of  ancient  ruins — pyra¬ 
mids,  temples  and  palaces — all  that  is 
left  of  the  pi’ehistoric  civilization  of 
which  the  Aztecs  were  the  last  represen¬ 
tatives.  The  latter  founded  Tenoehtitlan 
(Tenoshtitlan),  or  the  City  of  Mexico, 
in  1325 ;  and  from  it  as  a  centre  ex¬ 
tended  their  empire  over  all  the  sur¬ 
rounding  country.  In  1521  Hernando 
Cortez  overthrew  the  Aztec  civilization, 
and  planted  a  new  empire  upon  its  ruins. 
Then  followed  300  years  of  Spanish 
domination,  three  long  centuries  of  mis¬ 
rule  and  oppression.  At  the  end  of  this 
period  the  people  rose  in  their  might,  and, 
led  by  the  patriot  priest,  Hidalgo,  drove 
out  tlie  Spanish  power.  But  it  has  taken 
the  Mexican  people  many  years  to  learn 
the  art  of  self-government;  the  begin¬ 
ning  was  made  with  the  rise  of  Benito 
Juarez  in  1867.  Under  his  wise  admin¬ 


istration,  and  that  of  his  successor,  Por- 
firio  Diaz,  Mexico  has  taken  rank  among 
the  republics  of  the  world. 

The  Reliyion  of  Mexico 

The  Spanish  conquerors  gave  to 
Mexico  a  veneer  of  European  civilization, 
and  likewise  a  veneer  of  Christianity. 
This  latter  was  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  old  paganism  of  the  Aztecs,  hut 
it  was  very  far  from  being  what  it  ought 
to  have  been.  The  images  of  heathen 
deities  were  simply  replaced  by  those  of 
Christian  saints,  and  the  conquered  peo¬ 
ple  were  as  easily  led  to  transfer  their 
devotion  to  these  greater  and  more 
powerful  “gods.”  There  might  have  been 
some  apology  for  this  as  a  beginning,  if 
it  had  been  followed  by  a  clear  exposition 
of  the  difference  between  idolatry  and 
Christian  w'orship;  but  apparently  the 
Spanish  monks  were  well  satisfied  to 
have  won  the  outward  allegiance  of  the 
Indians,  Avithout  inquiring  too  deeply  in¬ 
to  the  true  character  of  their  devotion. 

How  true  all  this  is  may  be  seen  from 
the  following  quotation  from  the  letters 
of  Mine.  Calderon  de*  la  Barca,  the  Avife 
of  a  Spanish  minister  to  IMexico,  and 
herself  a  devout  Roman  Catholic;  “The 
cross  Avas  planted  here  in  a  congenial 
soil,  and  as  in  the  pagan  East  the  statues 
of  the  divinities  did  no  more  than  change 
their  names  from  those  of  heathen  gods 
to  those  of  Christian  saints,  and  image 
AA’orship  apparently  continued;  so  here 
the  poor  Indian  still  boAvs  before  the 
visible  representations  of  saints  and  vir¬ 
gins,  as  he  did  in  former  days  before  the 
monstrous  shapes  representing  the  un¬ 
seen  powers  of  the  earth,  the  air,  and  the 
Avater;  but  he,  it  is  to  be  feared,  lifts  his 
thoughts  no  higher  than  the  rude  image 
Avhich  a  rude  hand  has  carved.  .  .  .  He 
kneels  before  the  bleeding  image  of  the 
Saviour  Avho  died  for  him,  before  the 
gracious  form  of  the  Virgin  who  inter¬ 
cedes  for  him;  but  he  believes  that  there 
are  many  virgins,  of  various  gifts,  and 
possessing  various  degrees  of  miraculous 
poAA’er  and  different  degrees  of  wealth,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  quality  and  number  of 


Photo  by  Waite 

A  COMBINATION  OP  PAGANISM  AND  CHRISTIANITY 

Indians  dressed  for  a  religious  dance  in  the  Church  of  Our  Lady 

of  Guadaloupe 


diamonds  and  pearls  with  which  they 
are  endowed — one  even  who  is  the  rival 
of  the  other — one  wdio  will  bring  rain 
when  there  is  drought,  and  one  to  whom 
it  is  well  to  pray  in  seasons  of  inunda¬ 
tion."’  Until  a  very  short  time  ago 
the  old  pagan  dances  still  survived  as 
a  feature  of  the  worship  in  the  great 
church  of  the  Virgin  of  Guadalupe. 
^Mexico  City;  and  they  are  still  practised 
in  some  of  the  smaller  churches  of  the 
immediate  vicinity. 

In  view  of  this  terrible  degradation  of 
the  Christian  religion,  it  is  little  won¬ 
der  that  the  morals  of  the  people  have 
suffered  in  a  corresponding  degree.  Mar¬ 
riage  among  a  large  proportion  of  the 
poorer  classes  is  looked  upon  as  a  useless 
formality,  an  expensive  luxury  which 
they  can  ill  afford.  This  is  due  to  the 
exorbitant  fees  which  the  Church  de¬ 
mands  under  penalty  of  excommunica¬ 
tion;  and  partly,  also,  to  the  openly  im¬ 
moral  lives  of  many  of  the  clergy. 
Baptism  is  also  very  widely  neglected, 
because  the  people  are  too  poor  to  pay 
the  fee.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  intel¬ 


lectual  stimulus  which  Mexico  has  re¬ 
cently  received,  through  contact  with 
other  nations,  has  led  to  a  wholesale  re¬ 
bellion  against  this  travesty  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion.  Of  those  who  are  respons¬ 
ible  for  Mexico’s  great  advancement  in 
the  past  fifty  years,  the  majority  have 
broken  with  the  Roman  Church,  and  are 
openly  hostile  to  it.  The  most  enlight¬ 
ened  ones  of  the  nation,  in  other  words, 
have  renounced  the  only  religion  they 
have  ever  known. 

RcJigious  Reform 

It  was  due  to  the  above-described  con¬ 
dition  of  religion  and  morals  that  a 
movement  for  reform  was  started,  during 
the  administration  of  President  Juarez. 
This  movement  was  a  spontaneous  one, 
and  w’as  not  due  to  any  one  source  or 
leadership.  “Evangelical”  congregations, 
as  they  were  called,  sprang  up  in  many 
places;  and,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
most  of  them  went  to  great  extremes. 
But  this  was  not  the  case  wuth  all.  Out 
of  the  first  confusion  there  gradually 
emerged  a  little  company  of  earnest  and 


(5) 


Mexico:  The  Land,  the  People,  and  the  Church 


6 


sober-minded  men,  to  whom  President 
Juarez  himself  and  other  members  of 
the  Liberal  party  gave  encouragement 
and  support.  A  jMexican  missionary  so¬ 
ciety  was  organized  in  the  United  States, 
and  through  them  an  American  priest 
was  maintained  in  IMexieo,  as  agent  of 
the  society.  Large  sums  of  money  were 
contributed.  The  famous  old  church  of 
San  Francisco  was  purchased  for  about 
$30,000,  and  that  of  San  Jos?  de  Gracia 
(since  reconsecrated  as  San  Pedro)  Avas 
practically  presented  to  the  reformers  by 
President  Juarez.  The  great  popular 
preacher.  Manual  Aguas.  a  canon  of  the 
Roman  cathedral  in  Mexico  City,  having 
been  appointed  to  oppose  the  reform 
movement,  Avas  himself  converted,  and 
at  once  assumed  a  position  of  leadership. 
Adhesions  noAV  came  from  every  quarter, 
and  many  new  congregations  AAmre  organ¬ 
ized.  ITider  the  influence  of  Aguas,  the 
reformers  organized  “The  Church  of 
Jesus,”  and  he  Avas  elected  as  the  first 
bishop,  expecting  to  receive  recognition 
and  consecration  from  the  bishops  of  the 
American  Church.  He  died  suddenly, 
hoAvever,  in  1872,  befoi“e  this  could  be 
accomplished. 

The  American  priest  referred  to  above, 
the  Rev.  Henry  C.  Riley,  noAv  became 
the  acknoAAdedged  leader  and  Avas  elected 
bishop.  In  1875  the  Rev.  Alfred  Lee, 
Bishop  of  DelaAvare,  Ausited  Mexico,  and 
Avas  so  impressed  liy  the  movement,  that 
he  ordained  seven  men,  first  deacons,  and 
then  priests,  for  the  “Mexican  Branch 
of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  Militant  upon  Earth.”  A 
coA'enant  Avas  made  Avith  the  Inshops  of 
the  American  Church,  by  Avhich  they 
agreed  to  consecrate  bishops  for  Mexico, 
upon  the  fulfilment  of  certain  conditions. 
The  conditions  of  this  covenant  AA’ere 
neA'er  fully  compliel  Avith,  but  in  187b 
the  Rev.  Air.  Riley  received  consecration. 

Prom  this  time  the  affairs  of  the  ucav 
i\rexican  Church  ceased  to  prosper. 
Bishop  Rile.v  absented  himself  from  his 
see  for  tAA'o  .A’ears,  and  upon  his  return 
serious  dissensious  arose.  The  old 
Church  of  ,San  Francisco  aauas  resold  to 
the  Romans,  and  several  congregations 


became  schismatic.  LTnder  pressure  of 
the  American  Church.,  Bisho])  Riley  re¬ 
signed,  and  a  “Cuerpo  Ecclesiastico” 
Avas  recognized  as  the  ecclesiastical  au- 
thorit.A'  in  IMexieo. 

RepresentatiA'es  Avere  sent  by  the  Pre¬ 
siding  Bishop  to  labor  in  Mexico.  Xot- 
able  among  these  Avas  the  Rev.  Henry 
Forrester,  Avho  for  many  years  acted  as 
commissary  in  IMexico  and  Avhose  mem¬ 
ory  is  lovingl.A’  cherished  b,A'  those  Avhom 
he  served.  In  spite  of  the  faithful  efforts 
of  these  men.  the  Mexican  Church  did 
not  recover  its  former  prestige  and  vigor. 
It  Avas  not  a  mission  of  the  American 
Church,  and  it  aauas  i)Oorly  supported  by 
the  people.  IMan.A"  of  the  clergy  Avere 
compelled  to  resort  to  secular  Avork  for  a 
liA'elihood. 

This  Avas  the  darkest  hour  of  the  re¬ 
form. 

But  a  better  day  Avas  about  to  daAvn. 
In  1904  the  Rev.  Ileniy  D.  AA^es,  d.d., 
Avas  consecrated  as  bishop,  not  for  the 
Afexicans,  but  to  shepherd  the  great 
number  of  Americans  Avho  had  gone  to 
Mexico  for  the  purpose  of  exploiting  its 
undcA’eloped  resources.  True  to  the 
Catholic  principles  Avhich  had  ahva.vs 
guided  them,  the  native  clei'gy  asked  to 
be  receiv'ed  under  his  jurisdiction.  This 
Avas  accordingly  done  in  February,  lOOG. 
Thus  the  Ava,y  Avas  opened  for  the  Board 
of  Missions  to  give  the  natiA^e  Mexican 
Avork  the  status  of  a  regidar  foreign 
mission.  Rt^gular  appropriations  are 
noAV  made  for  the  support  of  the  ^Mexican 
Avork. 

La  Jijlesia  Vatolica  Mexicana 

In  becoming  a  mission  of  the  Church 
in  the  United  States,  the  natiA’e  Mexi¬ 
can  Church  Avas  obliged  to  forego,  for  the 
time,  its  independence.  But  it  still 
thinks  of  itself  as  the  Church  of  the  Xa- 
tion,  the  one  faithful  representative  of 
pure  Catholicity  in  the  land  of  iMexico; 
and  so  it  continues  to  proclaim  itself  by 
the  popular  title,  “Lu  IgJesia  Catolica 
Mexiraita.”  The  clergy  and  people  have 
a  profound  conviction  of  the  supremacy 
of  sound  Church  principles.  They  have 
draAvn  their  insi>iration  from  a  direct 


^lexico:  The  Land,  the  Leo])le,  and  the  Church 


study  of  primitive  Christianity,  yet  their 
churches  and  services  are  marked  by  a 
simplicity  which  is  almost  austere,  and 
it  is  on  that  basis  that  they  have  waged 
their  fight. 

The  clergy  now  number  fifteen  foreign 
and  ten  ^Mexican.  There  are  1,181  Mexi¬ 
can  and  811  English  commnnicants,  with 
seventeen  churches  and  twenty  chapels. 
At  Mexico  City  is  the  iMary  Josephine 
Hooker  School,  with  sixty  girls.  At 
Guadalajara,  the  bishop’s  place  of  resi¬ 
dence,  is  St.  Andrew’s  Seminary,  where 
postulants  and  candidates  are  being  pre¬ 
pared  for  the  ministry,  also  the  begin¬ 
nings  of  an  orphanage  and  hospital.  Of 
the  need  of  mission  schools  Bishop  Aves 
writes : 

“The  appeals  for  mission  schools  ex¬ 
ceed  our  present  ability  to  supply  teach¬ 
ers.  The  people  are  ambitious  for  their 
children,  appreciating  the  fact  that  edu¬ 
cation  is  the  only  doorway  opened  for 
their  escape  from  the  hopeless  poverty 
which  they  have  inherited  into  the  con¬ 
ditions  of  self-betterment.  And  the 
clergy  realize  the  strong  attractive  power 
of  these  schools,  and  the  added  oppor¬ 
tunities  they  offer  for  the  fortifying  of 
their  work.  I  am,  however,  adhering  to 
the  policy  of  requiring  the  people  to  as¬ 
sume  their  reasonable  share  of  the  bur¬ 
den,  the  providing  of  a  suitable  building 
and  a  pledge  for  a  part  of  the  teacher’s 
support.” 

Under  these  conditions  the  Church  is 
at  present  supporting  seven  mission  day- 
schools. 

EnffUsJi  -  Spcakinfj 
Conffrefiations 

Tn  losing  for  the  time  its  independence, 
'‘La  Iglesin  Cnfolica  Mexicana”  gained 
in  comprehensiveness.  It  is  no  longer 
the  Church  merely  of  the  i\rexican  peo¬ 
ple,  but  of  the  English-speaking  residents 
as  w'ell.  Just  how  many  there  are  of 
these  within  the  Bepublic  would  be  very 
difficult  to  say.  There  are  said  to  be 
50,000  Americans  alone,  more  than  10.000 
of  whom  reside  in  the  City  of  !^^exico. 
There  are  also  great  numbers  of  Eng- 


i 

lish  and  Scotch.  The  majority  of  the 
English-speaking  residents  are  engaged 
in  mining  or  engineering,  and  most  of 
them  are  scattered  throughout  the  more 
remote  and  inaccessible  parts  of  the 
country.  The  woiE  among  these  people 
is  almost  identical  with  that  in  the  min¬ 
ing  regions  of  the  western  part  of  the 
United  States.  We  have  about  a  dozen 
congregations  outside  of  Mexico  City, 
ministered  to  by  nine  priests.  Practical¬ 
ly  all  of  these  congregations  are  small, 
and  very  far  from  self-support.  Owing 
to  the  difficulty  of  renting  from  the 
Komanists.  it  is  very  important  that  they 
should  acijuire  properties  of  their  own,  in 
which,  of  course,  they  wdll  need  outside 
assistance.  Tn  many  places  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  tind  shelter  for  our 
services,  on  account  of  the  Eoman 
boycott. 

The  only  English-speaking  congrega¬ 
tion  of  the  Church  in  Mexico  that  can 
boast  a  church  building  of  its  own,  and 
that  is  self-supporting  as  well,  is  Christ 
Church  in  the  City  of  Mexico.  It  was 
started  many  years  ago  by  members  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  the  present 
handsome  church  was  erected  in  1898. 
With  the  later  influx  of  Americans  and 
the  coming  of  Bishop  Aves,  it  passed  un¬ 
der  American  jurisdiction,  and  is  now 
the  centre  and  bulwark  of  the  English- 
speaking  work.  The  Rev.  W.  Jones- 
Bateman  is  its  rector. 

Such,  in  brief  outline,  is  the  double 
w'ork  which  the  Church  is  doing  in  the 
great  Republic  of  ]\rexico.  It  is  a  work 
of  pecidiar  difficulty,  but  likewise  of  pe¬ 
culiar  promise.  For  IMexico  is  only 
awakening  from  the  sleep  which  has  held 
her  bound  so  long.  She  is  throwing  off 
the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the 
past  four  centuries,  and  is  seeking  for 
better  things.  What  she  needs  more  than 
anything  else  is  ])ure  religion.  And  un¬ 
less  it  is  given  her.  she  will  soon  have  no 
religion  at  all.  for  the  religion  of  Rome 
is  fast  losing  its  hold.  To  give  her  pure 
religion  is  the  duty  of  the  American 
Church. 

!^^exico  is  our  nearest  foreign  mission¬ 
ary  jurisdiction. 


(S) 


A  MEXICAN  PEON  AND  HIS  BURDEN 


A  MEXICAN  PEON  AND  HIS  FAMILY 


THE  PEON  AND 

ME-XICO  is  a  land  of  contrasts.  In 
the  midst  of  its  natural  beauty, 
stately  churches  and  progressive  people, 
live  the  indescribably  poor,  ignorant  and 
superstitious  peons,  constituting  a  vast 
majority  of  the  ]\rexican  people. 

It  Avas  nearly  four  hundred  years  ago 
that  this  class  began.  When  the  Span¬ 
iards  came  from  over  the  seas  clad  in 
their  stone  armor  and  carried  their 
strange  Aveapons,  they  seized  the  na- 
tiA’e  Indian  people  of  Mexico,  took  from 
them  their  fertile  lands  and  forced  them 
into  a  system  of  bondage  called  peonage. 
Years  haA’e  passed,  Spanish  rule  has 
ceased,  a  more  merciful  form  of  gOA^ern- 
ment  protects  the  people  Avith  better 
laAA’s,  ))ut  still  the  peonage  system  lives, 
and  the  peon  is  virtually  a  slaA^e  on  the 
great  plantations,  or  lives  out  a  miser¬ 
able  existence  in  the  isolated  mountain 
heights.  These  people  bear  the  burdens 
of  l^fexico,  and  these  people  bear  the  hope 
of  Mexico.  From  their  children  must 
rise  a  great  independent  middle  class — 
educated,  ambitious  and  prepared  to  ful¬ 
fil  the  possibilities  of  a  great  nation. 

Let  us  go  to  the  homes  of  these  people 
in  order  that  Ave  may  understand  their 
need  of  the  Church. 


HIS  POSSIBILITIES 

Through  an  ugly  hedge  of  cactus  Ave 
see  the  little  flat-roofed  hut  of  adobe  or 


INDIAN  GIRL  AT  HOOKER  SCHOOL 


(9> 


A  MEXICAN  JACAL. 

One  of  the  huts  in  ichich  the  peons  live 


A  PEON  GIRL  GRINDING  CORN 


sun-dried  mud.  Its  one  room  is  rather 
dark  inside,  for  there  are  no  windows. 
The  floor  is  the  bare  earth.  There  is 
neither  stove  nor  fireplace,  thoug-h  it  is 
often  quite  cold  on  the  mesas  and  moun¬ 
tain  sides.  The  heap  of  straw  in  the 
corner  serves  as  a  bed.  There  is  a  table, 
perhaps,  and  one  or  two  stools.  There  is 
not  a  picture  on  the  wall,  nor  a  hook  or 
paper  in  the  home — and  probably  no  one 
could  read  them  if  there  were.  The  in¬ 
variable  diet  is  corn  and  beans.  There 
are  no  knives  and  forks,  and  the  dishes 
are  all  home-made  and  of  baked  clay. 
The  little  girls  have  neither  hats  nor 
shoes,  and  their  clothing  is  miserably 
scant  and  poor;  for  the  father  earns 
only  two  and  a  half  reals  (less  than  six¬ 
teen  cents)  a  day.  All  this  and  much 
more  must  make  life  rather  serious  for 
these  little  ones.  But  more  than  all. 
the.v  see  little  or  no  cheer  or  pleasure 
reflected  in  the  faces  of  their  par¬ 
ents.  The.v  are  the  children  of  a 
grave,  stoical  and  seemingly  hojieless 
peo]ile. 

Thus  in  these  jacals  we  hear  no  voice 
of  joyful  play  or  song  or  laughter; 
neither  do  we  hear  the  voice  of  com¬ 
plaint  or  cr.ving.  Bnending  work  and 
life  are  synon.vmous,  and  at  an  early  age 
the  children  acce])t  their  share  of  the 


( 10) 


PRESIDENTE  FLORES  AND  HIS  HOUSEHOLD 
He  doubted  that  a  bishop  would  come  so  far  simply  to  help  the  starving  poor 


entlless  work  of  gathering-  wood,  car¬ 
rying  water,  washing  and  grinding 
corn. 

The  federal  schools — scarce  and  inade¬ 
quate  as  they  are — and  the  free  mission 
schools  are  the  only  doorways  by  which 
these  poor  children  may  escape  from 
the  hopeless  condition  which  they  have 
inherited.  Of  these  schools  Bishop  Aves 
says : 

“They  have  pierced  the  darkness  of 
popular  ignorance  with  their  little 
shafts  of  light,  and  have  shot  the  spark 
of  hope  and  ambition  into  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  many  who  will  be  the  lead¬ 
ers  of  their  people  into  better  fields  of 
life,  privilege,  and  service. 

“On  many  railways  it  is  not  uncom¬ 
mon  to  see  .vonng  women  of  Indian 
birth  serving  as  telegraph  operators  and 
station  agents.  Through  the  mission 
schools  have  come  intelligent,  self-re¬ 
specting  girls  from  the  wretched  jacals 
of  the  monntain  wilderness,  who  are 
earning  fair  Avages  as  clerks,  account¬ 
ants,  typewriters,  saleswomen,  teachers 
and  stenographers.  And  young  men. 
whose  only  iirosjx'ct  was  to  herd  a  flock 
of  goats  or  carry  freight  over  the  monn- 
tains  at  fourteen  cents  a  day,  are  coming 
from  these  same  schools  and  making  their 


way  into  trades  and  positions  of  respon¬ 
sibility  and  trust. 

“I  cannot  adequately  express  my  ad¬ 
miration  of  the  Avork  these  free  mission 
schools  are  doing.  For  AvhateA^er  the 
actuating  inotiA-e  behind  these  schools 
ma.y  be — and  by  their  fruits  Ave  should 
judge  them — the  results  raise  them  above 
the  mere  effort  to  propagate  sectarian 
names  and  traditions  into  the  dignity  of 


DEACONESS  AFFLECK 
Who  works  among  the  poor  of  Mci'ico  City 

(11) 


12 


Mexico:  The  Land,  the  People,  and  the  Church 


a  great  social  cause  of  national  im¬ 
portance.  They  are  potentially  the  lever 
by  which  a  submerged  people  may  be 
raised  to  a  higher  plane  of  privilege,  op¬ 
portunity,  and  Christian  living. 

“And  that,  it  seems  to  me,  should  be 
the  burden  of  our  missioii  to  Mexico ;  to 
help  a  helpless  people  to  self-help.  And 
to  that  I  long  to  see  our  great,  com¬ 
passionate  Mother  Church  give  her  heart 
and  hand.” 

The  Chui'cli  to  the  Iteseue 

Sooner  perhaps  than  he  anticipated 
when  he  Avrote  the  aboA^e  Avords,  there 
came  to  Bishop  Aves  the  opportunity  of 
putting  into  practical  effect  the  senti¬ 
ment  which  moved  him.  The  fall  of 
1909  was  a  disastrous  one  in  the  moun¬ 
tain  regions  of  Hidalgo  and  the  approach 
of  winter  found  the  people  in  the  grip  of 


MEXICAN  BOA’  AND  BABY  BROTHER 


cold  and  famine.  Thousands  suffered 
unspeakably,  and  Avithout  doubt  hun¬ 
dreds  Avould  have  perished  utterly  but 
for  the  beneficent  Avork  done  by  the 
Bishop  of  Mexico,  in  Avhich  he  Avas  aided 
by  the  general  Church.  Car-loads  of 
corn  Avere  shipped  from  the  United 
States  and  distributed  by  our  mission¬ 
ary,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Salinas,  from  Xo- 
pala  and  other  centres,  to  the  starving- 
in  tAventy-fiA-e  or  more  surrounding- 
toAvns. 

The  Mexican  Indians  are  both  stoical 
and  pi’oud.  They  are  inured  to  great 
suffering  by  the  hard  life  Avhich  they 
lead,  and  only  the  direst  stress  would 
compel  them  to  ask  for  help.  It  Avas 
therefore  an  evidence  of  their  extremity 
that  hundreds  came  from  great  distances 
asking  for  a  handful  of  corn.  By  strict 
economy,  alloAving  to  each  adult  slightly 
OA-er  one  pint  of  grain  a  day,  starvation 
Avas  aA-erted  and  the  poor  contrived  to 
live  through  this  time  of  trial.  Their 
gratitude  for  the  benefaction  Avas  pa¬ 
thetic,  and  served  to  open  to  the  Church 
a  iieAv  door  of  access  to  the  hearts  of 
these  poor  people.  Bishop  Aves,  aaRo 
personally  superintended  the  relief  AVork, 
cites  the  folloAving  instance : 

“At  San  Andres  de  Milpan,  a  com¬ 
munity  of  5,000  Otomis,  Avhere  Ave  spent 
our  second  night,  Ave  found  the  people 
gi-inding  their  little  remnant  of  corn  to¬ 
gether  Avith  the  cobs  to  make  it  last  the 
longer.  Our  host  here  Avas  the  presi¬ 
dent  e,  an  intelligent  and  kind-hearted 
Indian,  Avho  Avas  in  deep  distress  for  the 
suffering  of  his  people.  Our  offer  of 
corn  for  the  most  destitute  Avas  met  Avith 
incredulous  astonishment,  and  w-heu  he 
Avas  told  in  the  morning  before  Ave  left 
that  his  guest  in  khaki  Avas  a  bishop, 
he  said,  ‘Xo,  that  cannot  be,  for  bishops 
never  go  humbly.  They  go  Avith  eclat 
(“con  l)oml)a”)  !  And  they  go  alAvays  to 
get,  never  to  give.  If  I  am  to  belieA-e 
w-hat  you  say,  there  must  be  a  ucav  re¬ 
ligion  in  the  Avorld,  of  AA-hich  I  haA’e 
neA’er  heard.’  lie  guided  us  OA-er  the 
range,  and  secured  a  promise  from  our 
missionary  to  come  again  and  hold  a 
service  in  his  house.” 


HOOKER  SCHOOL  GIRLS  ON  THEIR  WAY  TO  CHURCH 


OUR  CHURCH  SCHOOLS 


A  DES'CRIPTIOX  of  the  work  of  three 
schools  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the 
educational  work  of  the  Church  in  Mexico. 

The  Hooker  ^eJiool 

The  ‘‘Mary  Josephine  Hooker  Memor¬ 
ial  School  and  Orphanage,”  situated  at 
Mexico  City,  was  established  by  ^Irs. 
Hooker,  who  came  to  Mexico  in  1870. 
Early  she  realized  the  need  of  a  Church 
school  for  native  girls,  and  to  that  end 
devoted  her  fortune  and  her  life.  In 
January,  1803,  Mrs.  Hooker  died,  and 
Miss  Henrietta  de  Saussure  Driggs,  who 
had  been  associated  with  Mrs.  Hooker, 
assumed  control  of  the  school. 

There  are  about  sixty  pupils  in  the 
school,  varying  in  age  from  six  to  sixteen. 
They  come  from  all  classes,  from  the 
v.'ealthy  Alexican  who  pays  the  tuition 
of  his  daughter,  to  the  orphan  of  the 
peon  family. 

The  curriculum  of  the  school  is,  in  the 
main,  the  same  as  that  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  schools.  To  it  is  added  English, 
lace-work  and  embroidery,  while  a  share 
in  the  housework  of  the  school,  its  wash¬ 
ing,  darning,  care  of  the  dining-room, 
etc.,  makes  a  liberal  education  for  some 


of  the  future  wives  and  mothers  of 
Mexico. 

The  home  life  and  religion  of  the 
school  has  a  marked  influence  over  the 
girls.  Morning  Prayer  each  day  in  the 
little  chapel,  the  after-supper  hour  with 
its  contendo  los  cuentos  (telling  stories), 
and  the  Suinlay  morning  worship,  when 


THREE  LITTLE  PEONS 

Many  a  Hooker  School  ffracluate  began  life 
like  this  little  girl 


(13) 


WHERE  THE  SERVICES  AT  HUMINI  WERE  HELD 


the  girls,  dressed  in  white,  wearing’  neat 
straw  hats  with  a  simple  band  of  red 
ribbon,  march  with  a  processional  to  the 
chapel — all  serve  to  make  the  girls  love 
the  school  and  cai-e  for  what  it  stands. 

The  Church  and  School  at 
Hu  min  C 

Bishop  Aves  gives  the  following  de¬ 
scription  of  the  work  at  the  little  monn- 
tain  village  of  Hiimini.  Riding  np  the 
mountain  side  for  his  visitation  a  great 
crowd  gathered  to  meet  him. 

very  plainly  and  poorly-clad  people, 
these;  bnt,  other  reasons  aside,  we  must 
respect  and  admire  them  for  their  de¬ 
voted  earnestness,  which  is  evidenced 
l»y  their  Avorks.  They  have  built  with 
their  own  hands  the  little  stone  church, 
about  thirty  feet  by  fifty,  and  the  school- 
house  (of  about  the  same  size)  standing 
by  its  side.  The  chapel  was  very  humble, 
hut  it  cost  $200,  which  for  rich  people 
would  have  been  nothing,  hut  was  an  im¬ 
mense  sum  for  people  Avho  earn  only 
twelve  cents  daily;  however,  there  Avas  a 


*  Humini  will  not  be  found  on  the  map,  as 
it  is  a  locality  and  not  a  town.  The  nearest 
village  is  Nopala. 


firm  purpose,  and  the  construction  iiro- 
gressed  little  by  little.  It  aatis  very  ini- 
pressiA’e  to  see  the  boys  and  girls  and 
Avomen  carrying  the  stones  for  the 
church,  and  the  men  of  the  congregation 
giving  Aveekly  one  day’s  Avork  as  their 
part. 

“XoAv  they  are  building  a  home  for  the 
teachers.  They  have  a  ])roud  and  inde¬ 
pendent  spirit,  these  Otomi  people;  and 
it  Avas  probably  this  same  spirit  Avhich 
led  their  forbears  to  the  rocky  fastnesses 
Avhen  the  foreign  conquerors  claimed 
their  rich  valleys  and  Avould  have  made 
them  shiA’es. 

“The  occasion  of  our  visit  is  made  es¬ 
pecially  important  by  the  fact  that  Ave 
are  to  examine  the  school ;  and  the 
buildings  are  made  as  festiA’e  as  green 
houghs  and  Avild  floAvers  can  make  them. 
Although  the  simple  tests  in  the  Three 
R’s’  are  attended  by  some  fearfulness 
and  Aveeping,  Avhen  Ave  reflect  that  only 
six  months  ago  none  of  these  girls, 
some  of  AA’hom  are  sixteen  years  of  age, 
kneAV  either  letters  or  figures,  Ave  must 
admire  their  progress.  Indeed  these 
Indian  girls  are  both  bright  and  am¬ 
bitious.  And  Ave  are  reminded  that  it 
Avas  from  these  Otomi  people  that  sev- 


(14) 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL  AND  CHAPEL  AT  HUMINI 


era!  of  our  Hooker  Annex  girls  came, 
wlio,  (luring  the  past  four  years,  won  a 
majority  of  the  prizes  offered  by  the 
government  at  the  National  Normal 
School  at  Toluca.  When  we  go  into  the 
homes  of  these  children  and  find  no 
single  book  or  paper  or  picture  there,  a 
realizing  sense  comes  to  ns  of  the  great 
blessing  this  school  will  be  to  them  in 
making  their  darkened  lives  brighter, 
larger,  fuller,  better,  and  in  helping 
them  to  better  opportunities  of  self- 
help. 

“Ten  years  ago  two  little  girls,  Amelia 
and  Leonora  Bnstamente,  were  taken 
from  this  community  to  be  educated  at 
the  Mary  Josephine  Hooker  School  and 
Orphanage.  They  are  now  the  teachers 
here,  receiving  each  a  salary  of  $5  a 
month,  too  little  on  which  to  keep 
house  and  clothe  themselves  prop¬ 
erly.” 

>S7.  Andrew's  Soninarij 

At  Guadalajara,  Bishop  Aves  has  es¬ 
tablished  St.  Andrew’s  Seminary.  Six 
men  are  now  in  residence  and  as  fre¬ 
quently  as  deacons  can  be  spared  from 
active  work  in  the  field  they  are  placed 
at  St.  Andrew’s  and  prepared  for  the 
priesthood.  Here  also  will  be  sent  post¬ 


ulants  and  such  older  boys  as  show 
superior  merit  iu  the  mission  day-schools. 
The  difiiculties  in  giving  a  theological 
education  are  very  gveat,  inasmuch  as 
there  are  no  theeffogical  books  in  Span¬ 
ish.  everything’  that  is  to  be  presented 
must  first  be  translated  and  then  ex¬ 
plained  and  adapted.  The  Rev.  Wil¬ 
liam  Watson,  who  is  in  charge  of  the 
work,  hopes  that  in  time  the  lecture  notes 
of  the  present  may  take  book  form  for 
ihstruction  in  the  future. 

Bishop  Aves  says :  “As  illustrating 
what  others  think  of  the  Church’s  oppor¬ 
tunity  here,  I  quote  the  words  addressed 
to  me  by.  a  Baptist  missionary  of  long 
experience  in  the  native  field:  Hhere  is 
no  Church  but  yours  that  can  success¬ 
fully  reach  aud  hold  the  natives.  You 
can  both  attract  and  hold  them,  for  you 
have  a  religious  form  that  appeals  to 
them  and  can  satisfy  them.  Therefore, 
I  believe  that  the  work  of  giving  relig¬ 
ious  eidightenment  to  Mexico  must  be 
done  by  you,  if  it  is  done  at  all.  What 
you  need  is  a  well-eciuipped  divinity- 
school  for  the  native  voung  mem’ 

“If  oiir  American  Church  is  to  take 
seriously  its  mission  to  Mexico,  it  will 
see  the  challenge  that  lies  in  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  such  as  this.” 


(1.5) 


SOME  FACTS 


I^EXICO  is  as  large  as  that  part  of  the  United  States  lying 
^  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

Its  bishop  is  responsible  for  the  most  extensive  territory  of  any 
bishop  in  the  American  Church. 


Bishop  Aves  has  two  distinct  spheres  of  service.  He  is  a  mis¬ 
sionary  bishop  to  the  Americans  in  Mexico,  and  he  is  also, 
by  its  own  free  choice,  the  bishop  in  charge  of  the  inde¬ 
pendent  native  Church. 

Many  thousands  of  young  Americans  are  in  Mexico,  and  their 
number  increases  rapidly. 


The  “  Mexican  Catholic  Church  ”  is  the  result  of  a  movement 
begun  within  the  Roman  Communion,  and  is  made  up 
almost  entirely  of  the  very  poor.  They  have  put  them¬ 
selves  under  our  protection  and  look  to  us  for  guidance 
and  help. 

For  all  this  work  the  Board  of  Missions  appropriates  (Jan.  1911 ): 
For  salaries,  travel  and  other  expenses  of 

the  bishop  and  archdeacon  .  .  $  6,450 

For  the  Hooker  School  (7  teachers  and 

63  girls)  .....  4,400 

For  13  foreign  and  10  Mexican  clergy, 
and  for  44  other  teachers  and 
workers,  repairs,  insurance,  etc.  .  1  7,577 


$28,427 


It  is  to  remedy  such  conditions,  existing  in  this 
and  other  fields,  that  the  Board  calls  upon  the 
Church  to  join  in  a  forward  movement  for  mis¬ 
sions.  Who  will  say  that  it  is  not  imperative  ? 


Copies  of  this  leaflet  may  be  obtained  from  the  Board  of  Missions, 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  by  calling  for  leaflet  No.  1600 

Price,  5  cents 


I  Edition,  Jan.,  1911.  (3M.)S.P. 


